Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 cerebral cortex 
.
cerebral cortex
The “new brain,” 
responsible for the most sophisticated 
information processing in the brain; 
contains four lobes.
FIGURE 4 
The limbic system is involved in self-
preservation, learning, memory, and the experience 
of pleasure.
Frontal lobe 
Amygdala 
Hippocampus 
Spinal cord 
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Module 9 
The Brain 
85
The cerebral cortex is referred to as the “new brain” because of its relatively 
recent evolution. It consists of a mass of deeply folded, rippled, convoluted tissue. 
Although only about 
1
∕
12 
of an inch thick, it would, if fl attened out, cover an area 
more than 2 feet square. This confi guration allows the surface area of the cortex to 
be considerably greater than it would be if it were smoother and more uniformly 
packed into the skull. The uneven shape also permits a high level of integration of 
neurons, allowing sophisticated information processing. 
The cortex has four major sections called
 lobes 
.
If we take a side view of the 
brain, the frontal lobes lie at the front center of the cortex and the parietal lobes lie 
behind them. The temporal lobes are found in the lower-center portion of the cortex, 
with the occipital lobes lying behind them. These four sets of lobes are physically 
separated by deep grooves called sulci. Figure 5 shows the four areas.
 
Another way to describe the brain is in terms of the functions associated with 
a particular area. Figure 5 also shows the specialized regions within the lobes related 
to specifi c functions and areas of the body. Three major areas are known: the motor 
areas, the sensory areas, and the association areas. Although we will discuss these 
areas as though they were separate and independent, keep in mind that this is an 
oversimplifi cation. In most instances, behavior is infl uenced simultaneously by several 
structures and areas within the brain, operating interdependently. To give one exam-
ple, people use different areas of the brain when they create sentences (a verbal task) 
compared with when they improvise musical tunes. Furthermore, when people suffer 
brain injury, uninjured portions of the brain can sometimes take over the functions 
that were previously handled by the damaged area. (Also see PsychWork .) In short, 
the brain is extraordinarily adaptable (Sacks, 2003; Boller, 2004; Brown, Martinez, & 
Parsons, 2006).
lobes
The four major sections of the 
cerebral cortex: frontal, parietal, 
temporal, and occipital.
Motor area
Broca’s area
Somatosensory area
Somatosensory association
area
Auditory association
area
Visual association
area
Visual area
Primary auditory area
Wernicke’s area